The 2024 US Open crowned Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka respectively. Despite the presence of two American players in the finals - Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula - the tournament was neither spectacular nor uncertain.
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The Italian ace dominated the mens tournament losing two sets along his run and beating American ace Fritz in the final by three sets to zero. The long-awaited match against Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals was not particularly exciting, as the Russian ace committed many unforced errors and did not express his best tennis on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
In addition, the premature elimination of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic did not help the tournament. The four-time Grand Slam champion - winner in New York in 2022 - was eliminated in the second round by Dutch Botic van de Zandschulp, while the Serbian legend gave up in the third round to Australian Alexei Popyrin.
The womens tournament was not memorable either, partly due to Elena Rybakinas problems and the shocking elimination of world number 1 Iga Swiatek. The feeling is that many players are beginning to be tired after a long and exhausting season, in which there were also the Olympics in Paris.
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The Olympic tournament was held on red clay, a completely different surface than that of the last Major of the season. It is no coincidence that all four mens Olympic semi-finalists were eliminated in the first week of the US Open. Despite the presence of two American players in the finals, the US Open was not very well seen on American TV this year.
A disappointing share
The mens final between Sinner and Fritz averaged 1.8 million viewers between ABC and ESPN+, with a share 31% lower than 2023 (when they faced Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev). The womens final between Sabalenka and Pegula - on the other hand - recorded a 53% lower share than last year (when Coco Gauff had defeated Sabalenka).
In a long interview with Tennis365, top agent Patricio Apey discussed the next stars impact on the crowd: The people coming through are just as exciting. They are humble, nice people who the public will warm to. Look at Carlos Alcaraz, everyone loves this kid. And he is not alone. Here is a young man that plays a lightning brand of tennis. He gets up in the morning and he is humble, caring and polite to everyone. Lets be happy he is in our sport. Jannik Sinner is the same. He is a lovely, lovely, lovely guy.
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You have got those two and we dont know if they are ready to replace Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. Will either of them be as good as Djokovic and win as many trophies as him? Its doubtful, but that will be decided over the next 65 Slams. What we have now is different. The new guys are dynamic, they can be controversial and there is always space for different actors in any good movie.
The decline of the Big 3 has certainly influenced this crisis. Roger Federer retired in 2022, while Rafael Nadal seems very close to announcing his departure from professional tennis. Novak Djokovic is still competitive at a high level, but he hasnt won a single Major this year.
The changing of the guard
In an interview with Eurosport, former French Open finalist Casper Ruud opened up on the beginning of a new era: "This year, we have two young players who have taken all four. It's fun to see with your own eyes that it's possible, but they are the ones who have stood out the most, showing high level, aggressive play, and good tennis.
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He continued: "It's clear, we can't just wait for things to fall into place, but these big three have performed very well. We've been in 21 finals and only won two, so it's not just bad luck; the fault lies with us. There was much talk about Zverev, Tsitsipas, and Medvedev when they emerged, suggesting they would bring about change and eliminate the greats, but they couldn't do it at all.
In recent weeks, the tennis world has been shocked by the doping case involving Sinner. The world number 1 was declared innocent by ITIA, but many players have gone against him and the anti-doping system. The two-time Grand Slam champion has reacted like a great player by winning both the Cincinnati Masters 1000 and the US Open, thus strengthening his leadership in the ATP ranking. Having requested additional documentation, WADA has about 20 days left to appeal the acquittal. NADO has instead given up the possibility of appeal, having accepted the decision of the ITIA.
